I have never seen a Hyundai (i35) Elantra with a Diesel engine, but I have plenty of experience with diesel hyudnais (especially the Hyundai Elantra GT (i30)) of that era.

go NOT get a 1.7L Diesel engine - they’re the worst. the 1.6L diesel is a much better design but it’s still plagued with a lot of expensive issues.

do not get a diesel Hyundai, most of them turn into endless money pits…

A diesel Ford Focus / Ford Mondeo is a much better option, only get a manual or a conversional automatic.

and they usually Hyundai pairs it’s diesels with terrible dual clutch transmissions; on Hyundai only get the 6 speed conversional automatic. (The 4 speed doesn’t seem to last as long as it should, and the 7 speed will constantly need repairs)

@californiaguy21 Thanks for letting me know of this question. I’m always happy to help 🙂

Unless I lived in Korea, that wouldn't be my first choice. Any car is a good car if it runs well and you can buy it cheap enough, but Hyundai cars do not have that good a reputation for either quality or reliability, and diesels tend to require pretty expensive maintenance.

Bad idea, those are endless moneypits.

More information needed...

Which country are you in? What engine is it (just diesel isn't enough because some have been recalled)? What is the price, and how does it compare to other cars? What transmission? etc.

Now the diesels don't have the issues of the gasoline versions and if it was made in Korea than it would be void of all the defects and Korean made ones are better. I know in some places like in Russia and Europe those Hyundais are seen as relatively reliable transportation until about 200.000-250.000km. @dan seems to know the Euro spec variants. As for would I recommend it long-term, no. The quality isn't great. But if its dirt cheap and a mechanic says its in good shape then why not it has low miles.